Tɛmplet:Columns-start/doc

The columns-start template and its child templates column and columns-end can be used to make a fixed number of columns (up to 5) that will span the entire page above a certain minimum width (100 ems for 5 columns, 80 for 4, 60 for 3 and 2). Below the minimum width, each column starting from the right will gracefully display below another one of the columns.

Use

The below examples are using the templates directly, so you can see what will happen if the minimum size is reached.

{{columns-start}}
Column 1 here
{{column}}
Column 2 here
{{columns-end}}

{{columns-start|num=3}}
Column 1 here
{{column}}
Column 2 here
{{column}}
Column 3 here
{{columns-end}}

{{columns-start|num=4}}
Column 1 here
{{column}}
Column 2 here
{{column}}
Column 3 here
{{column}}
Column 4 here
{{columns-end}}

{{columns-start|num=5}}
Column 1 here
{{column}}
Column 2 here
{{column}}
Column 3 here
{{column}}
Column 4 here
{{column}}
Column 5 here
{{columns-end}}

Parameters

Columns-start has these parameters:

|num=

Set the number of columns. Defaults to 2. The template will work with up to 5 columns. More than that should prefer a custom implementation or another solution (such as a wikitable for tabular content or {{div col}} for list content).

|class=

Apply another class to the set of columns, such as hlist. Default is none.

|bgcolor=

Set a background color. Default is transparent.

|width=

Set a total width in which all columns must appear. Default is 100%.

Template:Column has the same parameters where it is used as a "wrapper" template with numbered columns. Example:

{{column|num=2
|1=
Column 1 here
|2=
Column 2 here
}}

{{column|num=3
|
Column 1 here
|
Column 2 here
|
Column 3 here
}}

In the second example, be aware of the possible problem with a column that includes an equals sign. See Help:Templates#Equals for more information.

Otherwise, Template:Column must be used as above with Template:Columns-start.

Example

This is an example from List of Indonesia-related topics:

Palaces in Indonesia

• Istana Bogor
• Istana Luwu
• Istana Maimun
• Istana Merdeka
• Istana Negara, Jakarta
• Istana Wakil Presiden

Prisons

• Kambangan Island

Shopping malls

• Shopping malls in Jakarta
• Shopping malls in Bandung
• Shopping malls in Surabaya
• Shopping malls in Batam

Towers

• Monumen Nasional
• Wisma 46

Limitations

Tɛmplet:Tracked Tɛmplet:Tracked Using headings inside {{column}} in its wrapper form functions so long as there is some content beneath the 2nd and later heading. Secondly, headings will not carry an edit link. The below table may wrap (i.e. not display as columns) but displays the issue.

Content	Functional but missing edit links	Non-functional (missing content)
Wikitext	{{column |1= ==== Ex. heading 1 ==== ABC |2= ==== Ex. heading 2 ==== DEF }}	{{column |1= ==== Ex. heading 3 ==== |2= ==== Ex. heading 4 ==== }}
Rendered	Ex. heading 1 ABC Ex. heading 2 DEF	==== Ex. heading 4 ====

See also

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a HTML "div" (division) open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki  table code?†	Responsive/ Mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.